Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 257 - 256 Mount Hua Swordfight, The Five Great Experts

At the hotel’s B1 level, Li Zheng and Lin Yujing brought Ying Bao’er to the bowling alley.

Originally, they were just accompanying Qi Yingnan to help him relax.

However, unwittingly, they found a good diversion.

Finally, finally, they’d found Lin Yujing’s absolute weakest sport.

"Haha!" Li Zheng laughed heartily, "In the gutter again!"

"Ugh…" Lin Yujing grimaced, rubbing her wrist as she turned around, "Only morons would waste their time practicing this kind of sport…"

Clang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qi Yingnan bowled a strike.

Just as he was excitedly turning around to show off, he heard that.

"…"

"Ying Bao’er, don’t cry. I’ll immediately refute Lin Yujing’s ridiculous argument with facts." Li Zheng quickly grabbed a big black ball, his face full of anticipation as he sprinted, hurling it with all his might towards the white pins straight ahead.

Clang!!!

The ball ended up in the next lane!!!

Lin Yujing burst into laughter, kicking her feet: "Hahaha! Loser!!"

"Damn it, it’s so hard…" Li Zheng said with a silly smile, scratching his head.

Qi Yingnan sighed in disbelief, "Is it really that the better you are at studying, the worse you are at bowling…"

"Stop thinking about it." Li Zheng embraced Qi Yingnan and cursed, "At times like this, just trust Teacher Yang, with his sneaky face, he’s definitely got tricks up his sleeve."

"Well, let’s leave it to fate." Qi Yingnan waved his hand and smiled at the two, "You guys don’t need to keep me company like this, go have fun."

"We are having fun right now," Lin Yujing said as she picked up a small pink ball, getting a running start with great momentum, "Watch this—whooosh!!"

Thud!

A muffled sound was heard.

Lin Yujing had thrown herself down the lane.

She lay sprawled on the ground, sliding forward half a meter due to inertia.

And her fingers were still firmly stuck in the ball holes.

"Pffft, hahaha!!" Li Zheng burst out laughing in amazement, "What an idiot, haha!!"

"Ugh…" Lin Yujing struggled to prop herself up.

Li Zheng ran over joyfully, leaning over and laughing mockingly, "I always thought you were uncoordinated, haha!!"

"Ugh, cough…" Lin Yujing’s face scrunched up as if she was about to cry.

Watching this scene, Qi Yingnan was on tenterhooks.

I misunderstood you, Li Zheng…

It turns out, you’re a real man.

In a daze, Qi Yingnan felt as if the smiling glare of the six paths were watching him.

The familiar BGM was getting louder, closer, and more professional.

Don’t do anything rash, brother…

"Oh dear, she’s going to cry," Li Zheng said with his mouth wide open, "Is it the pain or the clumsiness that’s making you cry?"

"Grrr!!" Lin Yujing swiped at him.

Li Zheng quickly dodged, losing his balance as he leaned back and started flailing his arms instinctively, "Hey… hey hey hey…"

Unfortunately, he still fell backward.

"Hahaha!" Lin Yujing laughed heartily on the floor, mimicking him by flailing her arms about, "Hey hey hey~~~"

"That actually hurt…" Li Zheng said as he stood up, rubbing his shoulder, "Enough fooling around, let’s continue."

"Ugh…" Lin Yujing stood up as well, dusting off her bottom and grabbing the ball again, "I’m getting serious now!"

Clang!

Rumble rumble…

Into the gutter again.

Heading straight for the target, dropping vertically into the gutter, even worse than before.

"Hahaha…" Qi Yingnan couldn’t help but laugh, "I can’t with you two; both of you combined should take me on."

Li Zheng and Lin Yujing were about to retort, but seeing that Qi Yingnan finally laughed, they immediately felt as satisfied as a pair of parents with a long-awaited child.

Regrettably, at the end of the round, their combined score was still only a third of Qi Yingnan’s.

As the loser, Li Zheng was forced to buy the drinks.

Lin Yujing and Qi Yingnan sat in the rest area, very in tune with each other as they both pulled out their phones and started swiping away.

At the counter, while Li Zheng was waiting for the drinks, he too took out his phone.

But his aim was quite explicit.

To sneak a peek at the Dragon Pearl Group, to see their astonished reactions.

Indeed, at the moment, the Dragon Pearl Group messages had already piled up to 99+, and as Li Zheng opened the chat, they were still being furiously refreshed one after another.

In the group, the 36th Mount Hua Swordfight of the Physics Jianghu had already reached its conclusion.

The Five Great Experts, as follows—

Southern Emperor—Wu Shu.

Northern Misery—Qi Yingnan.

Eastern Evil—Gu Jianfeng.

Western Demon—Li Zheng.

Central Divine Sage—Lin Yujing.

Wu Shu was the only contestant from the last Swordfight to retain her place.

Only, she had slipped from "Central Divine King" to "Southern Emperor."

As for the North, it was the spot originally held by Boisterous Ou Xingzhuo from the North, and considering Qi Yingnan’s ranking this year, everyone decided to rub salt into the wound, bestowing upon him the grand title of "Misery" to kick a man while he was down.

Facing this outcome, Li Zheng was also quite displeased.

It was just a one-point difference in the experiment, just a single moment of unsteadiness.

They should have both been deemed the Lake Ying Duo, which would’ve been more in line with reality and far more imposing.

```

The person making the list really doesn’t know how to handle things.

I’ll kick them out when I get the chance.

But at this moment, the discussion in the group wasn’t about The Five Great Experts but about Huihu Middle School.

[This is too much, I’ve never seen anything this outrageous.]

[Hey, just watch, weren’t there 9 of them entering the training selection? Just wait for the final national team list to come out and see how many are left. When not a single one remains, I want to see if their faces hurt.]

[What use is a face? Can you eat it? Making it onto this list is the same as a guaranteed admission; those Huihu kids are probably signing contracts already.]

[Disgusting...]

[The seriousness of the finals should be comparable to college entrance examinations; can you really do this without consequences?]

[Why isn’t everyone collectively seeking an explanation from the committee?]

[Any brothers on the scene? What exactly is going on?]

[Shi Yang: Alright, alright, take a break. When I caused my disturbances, they were still playing with poop, listen to the brother, stop making trouble, and silently make a fortune.]

[And you have the cheek to talk about this!]

[You’ve basically turned Prague into a toilet!]

[This is different; I think we should make a fuss.]

Li Zheng saw the discussion getting more intense by the minute and felt it was necessary to say something as the group owner.

[Li Zheng: Okay, these are all speculations. Teacher Yang Changle has already gone to find out what’s going on, I will let everyone know once we have concrete information.]

[Wow! The great Western Demon!]

[Xing Zhuo: What’s so great, still lost to Central Divine Sage again.]

[System notification: Xing Zhuo has been muted by Li Zheng for 1 day.]

[Li Zheng: Who wrote this list? Come out for a second.]

[Group owner, I report, it was Ou Xingzhuo who wrote it!]

[System notification: Xing Zhuo has been muted by Li Zheng for 10 days.]

[Wu Shu: So it was you who wrote it!]

[System notification: Xing Zhuo has been muted by Wu Shu for 30 days.]

[God Zheng, what exactly is the deal with Huihu? Is anyone causing trouble now?]

[Li Zheng: Haven’t seen anyone from Huihu, don’t know what the situation is outside either, I’m playing ball, don’t believe any outside rumors, it’s not good to wrong other schools. I’m at the scene, take what I say as the standard.]

After explaining, Li Zheng turned off QQ and picked up his drink to turn back.

At that moment, WeChat suddenly chimed with a notification.

[Shi Yang: Two minutes, just chat for a bit.]

[Li Zheng: What’s up, taking a dump? Nothing better to do?]

[Shi Yang: Don’t you have anything else in your head...]

[Li Zheng: It’s not my fault, really, because of you.]

[Shi Yang: Enough crap, I’m telling you, don’t cause any trouble.]

[Li Zheng: You’re the last person who should be saying that, right?]

[Shi Yang: I have the right to say it, I’ve been through it.

You don’t know, Zhou Chenghuan later told me he blocked a lot of stuff for me.

When it was time to sign the contracts for the Chem Competitions finals, some teachers objected to signing me, calling me a troublemaker. It was all Zhou Chenghuan who cooked the raw rice into cooked rice, forcibly signing the contracts.

And after that, at ICHO, didn’t I cause another big stir?

Again, it was Zhou Chenghuan who used his connections to suppress the issue.

He definitely scolded me afterwards but also took the time to seriously talk to me.

He said to me, don’t think this is the end of it.

This kind of thing will follow me for a lifetime.

Later on, when applying for scholarships, picking a PhD program, choosing advisors, applying for academic titles... at any of those points, people could dredge up these incidents and make a fuss about them.

And that’s assuming I don’t cause any more trouble in the future.

If I do stir things up again, not to mention me, even Zhou Chenghuan himself would be implicated.

Now, I’m genuinely scared...

So, Li Zheng, don’t you cause any trouble, you and Lin Yujing just honestly get the first and second places, ignore anyone who tries to stir you up.

Even if Huihu does play dirty, don’t get involved.

Otherwise, this record will also follow you for life.

By the way, this year’s Chem Competitions charter has come out.

They’ve abolished the rule of one person per province for the national team.

Looking at it now, turns out we did do some tiny work, Hahaha.

But never do it again in the future, I don’t know if later people will be better, but those who stir things up are definitely going to be screwed.

That’s it, just wanted to tell you this.]

Li Zheng read these words and didn’t type a single word for a long time.

He felt both gratified and sentimental.

Unexpectedly, in the end, it really happened.

The ICHO national team from now on can truly be judged on its merits.

As for Shi Yang’s own sacrifice, the way Zhou Yi put it was probably an exaggeration, meant to scare him.

But there’s no denying that this tactic really worked; it’s like in some bathrooms where the drains aren’t great, and there’s a sign that says "No major X allowed, violators fined 200 yuan" - it managed to keep Shi Bao’er in check.

[Li Zheng: Thanks for the reminder, nothing is going on with me. Personally, I’m inclined to believe in Huihu because, after all, others could use the same argument to doubt Lake Ying.]

[Shi Yang: Doubt your ass, you two have been famous for a long time, no one dares to doubt you, and with a school like yours, even if the principal tried his utmost, he couldn’t get close to the questions.]

[Li Zheng: Eh, let’s not talk about this anymore, to see you become more mature makes me very relieved as a friend.]

[Shi Yang: Your relief be damned, it’s all for the face of Cheng Huan. Alright, alright, go play ball.]

[Li Zheng: You’d better wipe your butt fast, you’re taking so long, it must have dried already.]

[Shi Yang: I already said I’m not taking a dump!]

[Li Zheng: Then go take one quickly.]

```

[Shi Yang: Fuck, now that you mention it, I kind of want to... I’m telling you, I’ve been dieting recently and there’s this medication I’m taking, it just makes me shit oil, and if I’m not careful, my pants get a mess. It’s like the organ I trusted the most betrayed me. I can’t trust a single fart of mine, the slightest relaxation and... You’ve seen in movies when someone gets shot and blood spurts out suddenly, right?]

Li Zheng quickly clicked block and pocketed his phone.

Shit, piss, and farts - how come there’s always something new every time.

It’s also my fault for leading the conversation that way.

After all, Shi Yang’s talent is undeniable.

Give him an opportunity, and he simply can’t be held back.

...

This night was supposed to be the most relaxing moment, yet the only ones who truly relaxed by going bowling were Li Zheng’s team.

The rest, whether they were examinees or team leaders, good exam-takers or not, all found themselves in a state of anxiety even more intense than when they were in the exam hall.

The meeting room where the marking group was situated had already been surrounded by an impenetrable crowd, as team leaders from each province clutched their students’ papers, desperately fishing for points, unwilling to miss a single mathematical symbol. Even for questions that hadn’t been awarded points, any response that made half sense was debated with the marking group.

This situation wasn’t unheard of in previous years, but it had never been this severe.

Everyone knew the reason for this year’s scenario, but nobody voiced it outright.

For one, it was roughly estimated that Huihu Middle School had about 13 students winning national golds and 9 selected for the national team, which significantly squeezed the award spots, contract opportunities, and university recommendation spots for other schools, causing outcomes to fall below expectations – something every team leader tried to reclaim.

The provinces couldn’t save face, and it might even affect the number of spots in next year’s finals. For strong provinces, this loss often meant one less gold medal.

Secondly, most people truly believed that this year’s "host advantage" was a bit too much, naturally leading to some irritation. This atmosphere also put the organizing committee in an awkward position, obliged to help with a re-evaluation.

All these complications intertwined, turning the meeting room into chaos akin to a vegetable market, making the ostensibly intellect-driven physics finals as disgraceful as fighting for a seat on a crowded bus a decade ago.

Hotel staff passing by the meeting room were even reminded of the bitter scenes from past housing allocations at their workplaces.

On the other hand, since most people ranked lower than expected, it was inevitable that the poorly-performing contestants gathered to curse and vent their frustrations, with some even extending their grievances towards Zhejiang Province. Various competition groups and forums were filled with hostility, and even Bihu saw seven or eight trending questions emerge, along with several highly upvoted answers.

A hundred upvotes might sound pitiful, but in the competition circles, this was already absolutely hot.

Fortunately, most people still held goodwill towards Zhejiang Province, after all, the other schools in their province were the biggest losers.

In no time, alumni and former competition participants joined in the fray.

In just two hours, the "Huihu Competition Incident" became the hottest topic of competition discussion since the "Pleasure God Waterloo" in the Chem Competitions the year before last.

As for those who performed well on the exam,

They were even more anxious.

Because Ji University’s Elite was not making a move!

In previous years, contract signings would have already begun by now. Even though the final results weren’t yet confirmed, the major institutions were eager to secure students, and at least two-thirds of the contracts would be issued on this night.

This year, excluding Li Zheng and Lin Yujing, Jingbei’s two schools had only signed 7 students, all of whom ranked at the very top, that small group not from Huihu Middle School.

The remaining top hundred contestants received the message—wait for the final results to be settled before discussing further.

This undoubtedly made people desperate.

At the same time, it sent a signal to all contestants—

The top universities have chosen to wait and see, not daring to completely trust the current results.

In this precarious situation, no one could find the Huihu Middle School contestants. They seemed to have voluntarily shut their doors.

Of course, many believed this to be a unified directive from their teachers.

```

...

At nine in the evening, inside the bowling alley.

The eighth game had ended, and the duo of Li Zheng and Lin Yujing had been defeated once again.

"We’ve improved a lot, this time we were only 7 points short," Li Zheng said excitedly as he picked up the familiar big black ball, "Let’s do another round."

"Alright, alright, I’m tired..." Qi Yingnan slumped in the rest area and waved her hand, "You two play."

Li Zheng then turned to Lin Yujing, "Shall we start?"

"My arm hurts..." Lin Yujing shook her arm and said, "Let’s take a break."

"Hey, muscles are built through pain, man. They tear and grow constantly," Li Zheng showed off his own arm, "Keep training through the pain, and in the future, you can be as sturdy as me."

"That’d be a waste, okay!" Qi Yingnan scolded, "Don’t you know how to be tender to a lady?"

"How is that a waste? Scientific research is physically demanding, after all. How are you going to survive in the lab with those skinny arms and legs?" Li Zheng gesticulated, "I know a senior from the chemistry department, she’s always moving stuff around in the lab; her legs have gotten thicker than mine."

"Umm..." Lin Yujing shuddered at the thought, "Good thing I chose astronomy..."

"Enough talk, are we doing this or not? If not, I’m going solo."

"Whatever suits you," Lin Yujing flung her arm.

Li Zheng started a solo game, while Lin Yujing and Qi Yingnan once again tacitly took out their phones to play.

Without a doubt, the heat of this year’s Physics Competition also turned towards these participants.

Even Lin Yujing, who seldom had friends and never joined chat groups, was asked about it.

And Qi Yingnan had even more reason to pay attention, as his own future was entangled in it. He began following the various pieces of news subconsciously.

When Li Zheng, bored on his own, finished a game and came back, the atmosphere between the two wasn’t so relaxed anymore.

Li Zheng opened a bottle of Pocari Sweat and sat next to Qi Yingnan, "What’s up?"

"Jingbei hasn’t sent out many contracts..." Qi Yingnan frowned, "Things are really going to be chaotic this year."

"Is it that serious?"

Lin Yujing also shook her phone, "Math Competition seniors I know are all asking around."

Li Zheng’s eyes widened, "Since when did you know any Math Competition seniors?"

Lin Yujing glared back immediately, "Since when did you know any chemistry seniors?"

"That was all for studying!"

"You think I’m chatting for fun?"

In the end, it was Qi Yingnan who persuaded them to leave.

Ying Bao’er really had it tough, with so much going on and still being fed a continuous supply of dog food, ending up having to play the peacemaker.

Yet, as soon as they stepped into the elevator, the three of them fell into an odd silence without prior agreement.

At times like this, Li Zheng and Lin Yujing should have felt carefree and unburdened.

But as soon as they left the bowling alley, they felt an intangible oppression.

"If..." Qi Yingnan suddenly spoke up, "I don’t mean anything else, I’m just saying—if..."

Just as the two looked at Qi Yingnan, waiting to hear what he would say next.

Qi Yingnan simply waved his hand, "Never mind, let’s not talk about it."

```

Meanwhile, with a "ding," the elevator reached the floor.

They ran right into two bespectacled buzz-cut boys holding a stack of materials, clearly competition students.

The two glanced at the people inside the elevator and locked eyes with Qi Yingnan, who sported the same style, almost instantly.

"Classmate," one of them quickly held the elevator door open, widened their eyes, and said, "We plan to emulate the spirit of the Chem Competitions seniors and submit a joint..."

He was cut off halfway by a push from the person beside him, who then nodded towards Li Zheng and Lin Yujing.

That person finally realized, "Oh... sorry... never mind..."

"A joint letter?" Li Zheng frowned and asked.

His frown wasn’t because of anything else.

Even then, Li Zheng was still willing to believe that it wasn’t right for Huihu Middle School to engage in such actions with absolutely no evidence.

"No... it’s not..." The buzz-cut holding the materials quickly hid them behind his back, "It’s something else."

At this moment, looking at Li Zheng and Lin Yujing, they had lost the initial warmth, leaving only distance and indifference behind.

Since they were unrelated, Li Zheng found it inappropriate to comment further. He pursed his lips and exited the elevator with Lin Yujing and Qi Yingnan.

Once the elevator doors had closed, Lin Yujing asked, "The spirit of Chem Competitions? A joint letter?"

"This is what I meant to talk about just now..." Qi Yingnan shook his head with a sigh, "I was wondering, if Shi Yang were here, what would he do? But now it doesn’t matter, someone else is taking action."

It was only then that Lin Yujing remembered the stories about Shi Yang that Li Zheng had told her. After a brief exclamation, she turned back towards the elevator doors, puzzled, "I’m not scared, they could have just asked us openly to sign it, but why did they say it wasn’t..."

As she spoke, Lin Yujing suddenly fell silent.

She had figured it out.

"Exactly, no matter how crazy they are, they wouldn’t expect the gold and silver medalists to invalidate their own results. Mentioning this in front of you guys is just asking for trouble," Qi Yingnan said with a relieved smile, "Alright, let’s not think about it anymore. We’ll follow Teacher Yang’s advice, stay out of it, don’t cause a fuss."

"Ugh... it still bothers me..." Lin Yujing clutched her chest, "What does us being the gold and silver medalists have to do with anything... If there’s a problem, just retake the exam, why must they look at us with that sort of disdain... Even if we were tested ten times, a hundred times..."

"We would still be the gold and silver medalists," Li Zheng firmly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah!"

Seeing the two’s calm demeanor, Qi Yingnan let out a helpless sigh.

There was no helping it, this was the absolute confidence of the Western Demon and Central Divine.

This was the Lake Ying Duo.

After a brief moment of thought, Li Zheng tentatively looked towards Lin Yujing, "How about..."

"Okay!" Lin Yujing met Li Zheng’s gaze, not needing to hear him out to give her consent immediately.

"I haven’t even said it yet..."

"But I still know," Lin Yujing said, nodding with conviction as she looked at Qi Yingnan, "We listen to the loser, he who has high EQ commands."

"Huh?" Qi Yingnan was inevitably skeptical of life, "EQ... Li Zheng?"

"Uh!" Lin Yujing bared her teeth and gestured, "The loser can even take care of our principal, that’s higher than the principal! If someone really tarnishes the competition, that’d be the lowest of the low, scum of the earth. Following the loser is the right path, together we’ll be scumbags!"

Because "loser" appeared far too many times in various forms—as a noun, verb, and adjective—it inevitably confused Qi Yingnan.

However, Li Zheng, having long been immersed in such an environment, was completely versed in the semantics of static mode.

Li Zheng’s expression became invigorated, as if he and Lin Yujing had fallen into the same trench, receiving all of her trust and reliance.

In that moment, Li Zheng entered a state of boundless courage.

He was ready for the battle on the same front with Lin Yujing.

To dismiss Shi Bao’er’s warnings, he needed just 1 second.

"Since I have the highest EQ here," Li Zheng said with a raised expression, arrogantly ruffling his hair, "then all of your lives are in my hands."

"Uh!" Lin Yujing, brimming with excitement, tugged at Qi Yingnan’s arm and her cheeks flushed, "Look, look, now he’s bragging."

"Ah... speak of the devil and he doth appear..." Qi Yingnan stared blankly at Li Zheng, "So, what’s your command, EQ God?"

Li Zheng simply raised his hand, pointing upstairs.

"The elevator stopped on the 9th floor, they must be knocking on doors trying to persuade others now."

"Go to them and tell them."

"Lin Yujing and I stand with the fairness most people believe in."

"It’s okay to organize a joint letter in advance."

"But under no circumstances should it be submitted."

"Without any evidence, such actions are mere unilateral defamation driven by self-interest."

"Such unprincipled and lawless actions not only have no hope of success but will also be met with serious discipline."

"If you want to do something, then approach the truth using methods within your capability, Lin Yujing and I will do the same."

"Once there is evidence we recognize."

"I’ll be responsible for submitting the joint letter."

"I’ll be responsible for negotiating with the organizing committee."

"I’ll be responsible for all outcomes."

"Use me as the benchmark, let me sound the charge."

"That’s it, tell them this," Li Zheng concluded.

"Uh! To be charge led by a scumbag!" Lin Yujing was the first to respond with an enthusiastic fist, her cheeks turning red, "Bad student! Gotta be the bad student once!"

"Why do I feel like the situation got several levels more serious after you spoke," Qi Yingnan said, grabbing his head with excitement, "Even so, it’s not worth you leading the charge!"

"On the contrary, I’m the only suitable one to lead," Li Zheng said, shaking his sleeves, radiating authority without anger.

"First, my spiritual totem, Shi Yang, and I have fought battles on the same toilet seat, that’s experience."

"Second, I have the support of top-tier results in dual competitions, which gives my words some weight, that’s credentials."

"Third, I’ve already secured a direct entry to Ji University and have nothing to worry about, that’s courage."

"Fourth, even if there are severe consequences, the worst outcome would be the cancellation of my competition results, or at an extreme, Ji University might revoke my direct entry, although I don’t believe they’d be that foolish. But even if that happened, it wouldn’t matter to me. After all, I can still get into university through the exams, that’s... that’s just plain awesomeness."

"I didn’t say you couldn’t do it... I meant it’s not worth your trouble," Qi Yingnan said, grabbing Li Zheng’s shoulders and looking him in the eye, "Are you sure... really sure?"

"You’re too close," Li Zheng pushed Qi Yingnan away with disgust, glanced at Lin Yujing, and coughed, "This matter... it bothers me. For the integrity of the competition and the future of physics, I am very sure."

"Is it really just to protect Quiet God’s smile?"

"Protect your uncle, just go!"

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